Another Christmas Carol
by Spotty1006
Summary: Yes, another one of these stories. Silver discovers he must change his ways in life or be forced to drag the chain of misery he has caused in death.
1. A New Safari Zone

**I should be working on, well, stories that need to be finished. Guess what? It's almost Christmas, and I just came up with a Christmas special last night. So, instead of working on things that need to get done, I'm going to do something for Christmas.  
And, big surprise! It's A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, only I can't find any fanfics like THIS on the site, and only one was even close, since it had one character in a different part.  
Our main character, Mr. Scrooge, ladies and gentlemen, is Silver from Generation Two. And if you don't know which one Silver is, Silver is the main rival from the video games.

* * *

**Once upon a time, in a land known to many as Johto, there was a boy named Silver. With a combination of his awesome red hair, his lack of caring for pretty much any living thing, and the slight detail of who his father is*, Silver seemed to be born without a sense of good or evil. All his life he seemed to pretty much do whatever he wanted, stealing and overworking his Pokemon and getting rid of those in his way with force, without noticing those he stepped on along the way.

One Christmas Eve, that all changed. Three Christmases after _that_ incident, in fact.

_That_ incident, as someone is no doubt wondering, happens to be the death of his old rival, Gold. Three years before, on the Eve of Christmas itself, Gold had been training on Cinnabar Island when a volcano erupted, taking the whole island and nearly everyone occupying the island with it. One lone survivor, the Island's gym leader (Blaine), managed to somehow escape to the Seafoam Islands. The police are still trying to figure out just how he made it off the Island, due to the fact that he has no water Pokemon. There are rumors for this, but none are confirmed to be true, and besides, that's a different story unto itself. The point is, there was a natural catastrophe and Gold died.

As for Silver, it seemed the opposite happened. He'd never went to Cinnabar Island, and not only had he survived, but he began to thrive. Despite his lack of compassion, Silver was a fairly talented Trainer that had won many a Pokemon battle. As a result, he had quite a bit of money on his hands, but he didn't use it all that much. He didn't really need to buy anything other than the occasional Poke Ball, but he didn't exactly give it away freely either.

Three Christmas Eves after the death of Gold took place, our story begins on, obviously, a Christmas Eve.

Three Christmas Eves after previously stated incident, Silver was staying at a Pokemon Center in Cianwood City. He had heard that they were building a new Safari Zone there, and he was waiting for its completion so he could try it out. The Safari Zone was about halfway built, but the construction workers were having some...difficulties. Or so they said.

The day itself was just ending. Silver was trying to figure out some new battling strategies when two men came up to him. The first one, shorter and fatter, seemed to be an elderly man. He wore old, slightly dented glasses and some kind of brown robe. He had no hair on his head, nor any mustache, but he had a short brown beard. In his hand he carried some kind of box. The other man, taller and younger, looked about the age of Professor Elm, only less nerdy looking. He was dressed in ordinary clothes like most people (including Silver) and the only hair on his head was a mess of black hair on the top. This second man spoke first.

"Excuse me, sir. Whom do I have the honor of speaking to?" he asked.

"What do you want?" Silver demanded, ignoring his question.

The second man pretended not to notice. "We were wondering if you would make a donation for the new Safari Zone."

"So far, the Safari Zone is looking great," the first man spoke. "The glory of all the other Safari Zones will pale in comparison to this one. Not only will there be more rare Pokemon, but new concepts are being introduced that have never been seen or experienced before. The problem is, we're running low on funds. We don't have enough money now to complete the project, and no one wants to abandon the project now that it's halfway built."

"So, how much do you want to donate?" the second man asked.

"Nothing," Silver replied.

"I beg your pardon, but I believe I heard you incorrectly," the first man apologized.

"I'm sure you heard me correctly. I'm not donating anything. I have better things to do with my money than invest it on your dinky little Safari Zone," Silver repeated.

The second man seemed taken aback, but he managed to choke out a response. "A-alright then. Well, Merry Christmas to you, sir."

Silver said nothing until the two men were out of earshot.

"'Merry Christmas', they say. Why should Christmas be merrier than any other day? Christmas has done no more good to me than any other day. I'd let it rot in the darkest, most haunting alley if I could," Silver muttered.

Silver began to walk away, only to be interrupted by a ''Merry Christmas, cousin!'' from Roark.

"What do you want?" Silver said as he turned to face his cousin.

"Silver, you really should have a better attitude," Roark reprimanded him. "After all, Christmas is tomorrow."

"Christmas?" Silver asked. "Christmas is just a time where you find yourself a year older and no farther in life. What reason could you have to possibly be merry?"

"Christmas is supposed to be a time where people open their cold hearts and think of all people, not just themselves. They treat other human beings like human beings and not like some sort of beast in another world. Perhaps I haven't accomplished any good in life, but it's a time to be joyful, and I say, God bless it!"

"It's hardly a day to be joyful when it's so hard to pay one's bills," Silver pointed out.

"Why do you always act so cold, Silver?" Roark asked.

"Good afternoon."

"All I've ever done to you was try to be your friend. Why can't you return the favor?"

"I said good afternoon!"

Roark sighed. "Merry Christmas, then, Silver, and a Happy New Year." He then walked away, leaving Silver to walk into the Pokemon Center by himself...

* * *

*** This is canon(in the video games, at least)! I don't feel like telling the ignorant who Silver's father is, so look it up I guess.**

**What's with the sudden obsession with A Christmas Carol? Well, it's possible that has to do with watching two movie versions of the book in school at the same time. One is called _Christmas Carol: The Movie_ or something like that, the other is the new Disney movie.**

**As for Wally being Silver's cousin...I made that up. I wasn't going to make tribute to Cratchit OR Fred, but I need someone for at least one of the roles, and the chapter was a little short, so Wally is sort of both. Now that I think about it, Wally might actually have a third role, due to his...yes...  
Update: You should now see Roark is Silver's cousin instead of Wally. Roark is now taking over Wally's previous roles, and Wally is getting Tiny Tim, instead of Wally being Bob Cratchit, Fred, AND Tiny Tim. Thanks to Meta-Akira for the suggestion. Hope you don't mind that I stole it, but it's a great idea.**

**Well, next chapter we'll get into 'Jacob Marley'. So be excited for that.  
**


	2. Seeing is Believing

**I always try to read my reviews (unless the story is long done, then I'll be like 'This is still getting reviews?' about five months after they're posted. So, if you (Firefox just minimized itself) didn't look at the first chapter again (you know, how most people do that) then you'll notice that Wally was replaced with Roark. Thanks to Meta-Akira for the suggestion. Hope you don't mind that I stole it.**

**This chapter introduces 'Jacob Marley', and maybe the Ghost of Christmas Past. And thankfully, there's only two people left to 'introduce', one is Wally, and 'Jacob Marley' was mentioned in the previous chapter.  
Disclaimer: A Christmas Carol will always belong to Charles Dickens. This is just one of many fanfics based off of it. Which is odd, since 'A Christmas Carol' isn't one of the stories you can make a fanfic about...

* * *

**Silver opened the door to the Pokemon Center and went inside.

"Good evening, you're out late!" Nurse Joy said. "Greetings! Welcome to the Pokemon Center! Would you like to heal your Pokemon?"

"No," Silver replied, doing his best to maintain his patience.

"We hope to see you again!" Nurse Joy exclaimed.

"So let's get this straight," Silver told her. "You want to see me again? You want to do business with me once more? So, wouldn't that mean that you want my Pokemon to get hurt again?"

"Uhhhh..." Nurse Joy wasn't sure how to reply to that.

"So, Pokemon Centers encourage violence? And fighting? You realize that in countries where Pokemon are referred to as 'animals', it's illegal to make them fight? Wouldn't you encourage this to be legalized, then?"

"...We hope you do business with the Pokemon Center if your Pokemon are ever injured again," Nurse Joy corrected herself.

"That's much better," Silver told her.

"Unfortunately, the Pokemon Center is no longer a 24 hour service," Nurse Joy added. "My shift is up. We won't be running for another 6 hours. So I'll see you tomorrow morning." Nurse Joy grabbed her suitcase and exited the Pokemon Center.

Silver wordlessly watched her go before walking over to the door that led to the resting area. He reached out with his hand to turn the bronze doorknob that would open the red door, but before he could, a face appeared on the doorknob, spooking Silver.

"G-Gold?" Silver stammered in fright. "What are you doing here?"

The face gave no response.

Silver shook his head. "I must be seeing things," he told himself. "This is only an illusion of the mind. After all, Gold's been dead for three years now. And even if there were such things as ghosts, what reason would he have to haunt me?" Reassured by his speech, he continued to reach for the doorknob.

The face that used to belong to Gold opened its mouth, revealing two rows of old, rotten teeth.

Silver screamed as he ran backwards, hiding behind a bookshelf. "Leave me be! I mean you no harm!"

There was no response.

Silver peeked around the bookshelf at the door, but the face was gone. Shaking, he returned to the door, opened it, and entered the room behind the door, shutting the door quickly behind him.*

He sat down in a chair and tried to calm himself. "Calm down, Silver. It's just your imagination playing tricks."

It seemed to be working. Silver stopped shaking and almost forgot about the incident.

That was when he heard the rattling of a chain accompanied by slow, heavy footsteps.

His heart started racing. "W-who's there?"

There was no response.

"Who's there?" Silver repeated. "If you're looking for Nurse Joy, the Pokemon Center's closed."

There was no response. Contrarily, all noises stopped completely.

Silver sighed. "Just my imagination again."

"Just your imagination?" a voice behind the door asked, sending Silver into a fright again. "I don't suppose you believe in ghosts, do you?"

"Never have," Silver answered, trying to sound calm. "Never believed in them and never will."

"Never will, eh?" the voice repeated. A ghostly figure walked through the door, dragging a heavy chain around his body and across the floor. The chain rattled as it came in contact with the floor and dragged itself along, and every footstep of the figure seemed like a gunshot to Silver. "I suppose nothing will change your mind, not even a ghost itself."

"Who are you?" Silver demanded.

"That's a strange question..." the ghostly figure mused. "Try asking me who I was when I lived."

"Who were you when you were alive?" Silver asked.

"In life I was your rival. My name was Gold," the ghost replied.

"Gold? I refuse to believe it."

"Seeing is believing, Silver. Many people believe in ghosts without ever seeing one themselves. You refuse to believe as you stand before one, taking in its presence."

"You're just a figment of my imagination."

"Not even _your _imagination would be this cruel, Silver."

"Then what do you want?" Silver asked. "Why do you carry that chain?"

"This is the chain I carried in life, from all of my misdeeds," Gold told him sadly. "It may not look like it, but imprisoning some Pokemon in itself is a misdeed. After all, the Pokemon that created life itself** shouldn't be in a Poke Ball, should it? But I'm getting off track. Those who do bad in life forge the chain of misery they must keep in death. Your chain, Silver, was three times this long on the day of my death, and since has grown much larger than that."

Silver was amazed. Gold had a pretty big chain. Catching Arceus really _must_ be a bad thing. "I don't seriously have to carry around that when I die, do I? I can't carry a lot as it is, I doubt I could even carry your chain."

"All for the more misery in death," Gold told him. He looked out the window on the opposite side of the room, as if listening for a voice. "Listen, Silver, I do not have much time left here."

"But I have so many questions!" Silver protested. "Even if you are imaginary, you must have many answers."

"None of which you shall know," Gold told him. "Listen, Silver, before my time is up. You have a chance to reduce the size of your chain."

"'Reduce the size'?" Silver repeated.

"Listen! You can reduce its size. To do that, you must heed the warnings of three spirits that will visit you tonight."

"Three? In one night?" Silver asked. "How shall I get any rest?"

"LISTEN!" Gold shouted. "Tonight you will be visited by three spirits. Listen to them if you want a happier afterlife. The first will come at 1." As soon as Gold finished this sentence, he seemed to float backwards towards the door.

"Wait!" Silver said. "What three spirits? What kind of warnings?"

"My time is up," Gold simply stated as he floated backwards through the door, dragging his rattling chain along with him.

"Three spirits?" Silver asked himself. "Well, if he is to believed, and I want any sleep tonight, I might as well start resting now."

* * *

***That's an unnecessarily long sentence.  
** According to one of the legends of the fourth generation of Pokemon, Arceus was said to have created the whole region of Sinnoh (or something like that). On Pokemon Diamond, I own two Arceus...es. How long is MY chain? **

**Well, Nurse Joy decided to appear. Laugh now, while you can. Enjoy the humor. It will not appear a lot in this story.  
Yes, I am trying to work on describing more. I think I might be doing a decent job.**

**Thanks to Annabella Carter, Meta-Akira, and sandydragon for reviewing! Next is the Ghost of Christmas Past, a Pokemon we all remember as a great nuisance from good old Generation 1!  
**


	3. I am the Ghost of Christmas Failing

**More updating! I'll sleep good tonight!  
No reviews for last chapter, as I just posted it, and who is insane enough to be up on fanfiction dot net at this time of night?  
Me, that's who.**

**Disclaimer: I may have neglected to make a disclaimer. Now there are two disclaimers.  
Disclaimer 1- I do not own A Christmas Carol. That belongs to good ol' Charles Dickens, the author of other great novels such as Tale of Two Cities.  
Disclaimer2- I do not own Pokemon. That belongs to Nintendo, Funimation and/or 4Kids, and...whoever owns it in Japan. (- Bless America, the land of ignorance of other cultures!)  
Disclaimer 3- That was a lie. I know a lot of people who know a lot about foreign culture. Especially about Japan. I personally know at least three or four people off the top of my head.

* * *

**In his bed, sleeping peacefully, Silver suddenly awoke at the sound of a clock announcing the time. He listened for the 'dongs'.

One.

It was 1 AM.

Silver looked around, but he couldn't hear or see anything to suggest the presence of a spirit, ghost, or likewise. Perhaps he was just crazy. Maybe there were no spirits coming to warn him of...something.

Then he heard a fish splashing and looked down to see a fish of a magnificent orange hue.

"You're a...Magikarp?" Silver asked it.

"Any ordinary Magikarp, you mean?" the Magikarp asked. "I am insulted."

"Then who are you?"

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Past," the Magikarp announced.

"You don't really look all that dead."

"Thanks!" If it wasn't so orange and bright, the Ghost of Christmas Past might have blushed. "You're simply too kind."

"Erm..."

"I almost forgot why I was here," the Ghost admitted. "Stand, child, and join me on a leisurely stroll."

"'Child'?" Silver asked.

"Just come here so I can show you something."

"What if I don't?"

"Then I'll evolve into Gyarados and kill you. How would you like to be the Ghost of Christmas A-"

"I've heard enough," Silver interrupted as he got out of the bed. "You're certainly a pleasant spirit."

"And no one ever gives me respect. They all judge me before I do anything. I swear, when I evolve, I'll kill all of you." The Magikarp then smiled at him. "May we please hurry?"

"Whatever." Silver stood on the ground next to the Ghost. "Now where are we going?"

"I'll show you." The Ghost nudged him towards the window, and Silver found himself to be almost weightless. The Ghost jumped out the window and hovered outside, waiting for him. Without thinking, Silver jumped out the window and joined the Ghost.

"Come with me," the Ghost said as she glided off in the distance. Silver followed her. As they continued past the trees, he began to feel much younger, as if he had traveled back in time.

As they glided, a Christmas carol began to play.

_Just hear those sleigh bells jingling,_  
_ring ting tingling too_  
_Come on, it's lovely weather_  
_for a sleigh ride together with you_

"Where's the music coming from?" Silver asked over the music.

_Outside the snow is falling_  
_and friends are calling "yoo hoo",_  
_Come on, it's lovely weather_  
_for a sleigh ride together with you._

"Sorry, that's just a house we're passing," the Ghost apologized. "It should stop in a minute."

_Giddy yap, giddy yap, giddy yap,  
let's go, Let's look at-_

The music suddenly stopped.

"I'm glad that's over," Silver admitted.

"We're here," the Magikarp told him. She then glided downwards towards a rather large building. Silver followed.

The building was huge and brown in person. It wasn't young, nor was it old- It neither invited nor rejected your presence. It was simply there. Very few windows allowed a little light in the building, but not enough to make it bright inside.

"Do you recognize this place?" the Ghost asked.

"Recognize this place?" Silver asked. "Of course I do! This was where I spent my years as a young lad- Earl's Pokemon Academy!"

The Ghost motioned for Silver to follow her inside the building. Inside one of the rooms, the Ghost stopped and pointed with her fin to a young lad with short red hair, reading a text book as if it were the greatest novel in years.

Silver found himself looking at himself at a much younger age.

"That's me when I was younger," Silver said out loud. "When I attended the Academy. But how-"

"Shh," the Ghost shushed him.

A much older man walked inside. He wore a hat to cover his short hair. He seemed to command respect and obedience simply through his gaze.

Giovanni!

Silver's father!

"I don't remember this at all," the older Silver muttered. But that was a lie. He hadn't thought about this encounter, the last with his father, in many years, but now as it stood before him, hauntingly familiar, he remembered the whole thing as clearly as if it had just happened.

The younger Silver looked up from his book to see his father. "Father? What are you doing here?"

"Pleased to see you as always, Silver." When there was no response, Giovanni continued. "I was wondering if you would like to come home to help me with a little project of mine."

"I'm always happy to come home, Father, but that depends on the project. What kind of project do you speak of?"

"Why, son, you of all people should know," Giovanni said, surprised.

The younger Silver narrowed his eyes. "That project? You should already know the answer to that, Father."

"And what answer would that be?" Giovanni demanded, his voice filling with anger.

"No," young Silver simply said, not fearing his father's anger. "You and I both know that I expressed no wishes to join Team Rocket, and I haven't changed my mind."

"Fine," Giovanni said. "Stay here for the holidays if you wish. You're making a mistake, Silver. You're missing a great opportunity."

"When one door closes, a window opens, Father," Silver replied.

"Have a merry Christmas, then. I hope it's full of _excitement_," Giovanni said sarcastically. He then left the room, ready to tear apart anyone who was unfortunate enough to stand in his way.

"When Giovanni's brother died, he had to look after your cousin Roark," the Magikarp spoke after a long silence. "After your father died, you promised to do the same."

"I didn't think he would end up this unbearable," Silver retorted. "How can I spend my time with someone who expects me to act so merry?"

"Perhaps he has a point," the Ghost replied. "Did you think of that?" When Silver didn't reply, she shook her head. "I have one more image to show you. Come." She left the building and floated towards the North. After a brief hesitation, Silver followed.

As they glided, Silver could feel time passing, as if he were growing older. After a few minutes, the Ghost worldlessly dived down through the roof of a cave, leaving Silver to follow.

"The Dragon Shrine..." Silver said to himself, recognizing the huge structure that was now under him. "This must be the Dragon's Den."

Silver saw himself, about the same age as he was now, training his Meganium. This was interrupted by the appearance of Gold, being a nuisance as he always had been. Silver had been about to challenge his rival to a battle when Clair and Lance appeared, and as Silver remembered this the two appeared. After a moment, Silver and Gold began fighting the two Dragon trainers. Both Silver and Gold seemed unstoppable for a while until both Dragon trainers sent out their Dragonites. Silver had tried his hardest, but all of his Pokemon died to the supreme power of the two Dragonites.

This was the last battle that Silver had participated in with Gold, and Gold ended up carrying the two to victory as Silver wordlessly watched.

Clair, Lance, and Gold all left. Silver remained at the shrine, looking at the Poke Balls of the Pokemon he had used in battle.

"You were strong," he had admitted. "But you weren't strong enough. I've trained you better than that, all three of you. Especially you, Meganium. After all this time, all the time I've trained you and battled with you at my side, and now you fail me?"

Silver now could practically sense the fear of his Meganium as it listened to his words.

"You are a great Pokemon trainer," the Magikarp said. "No one can deny that. But your one flaw is refusing to listen to anyone who tries to help you."

"They were all worthless trainers," Silver muttered.

"They all told you the same thing," the Ghost continued. "The regular trainers, the seasoned trainers, the Gym leaders, even the members of the Elite Four. You're good, but you could be better if you cared about your Pokemon."

"I care," Silver retorted. "I care about whether they win or lose, whether they're strong or weak, whether they're injured or healthy."

"A true Pokemon trainer does more than that. How would you feel if some giant came and told you to do something, then was disappointed after you did the best job you could possibly do?"

Silver didn't respond.

The world around Silver began to fade, as well as the sound of the water brushing against the bottom of the Shrine. When the Ghost spoke for a last time, Silver could barely make out her whisper:

"The next spirit will come at 3."

Silver suddenly was back in his bed. Looking at a clock on the wall, it was only about 1:15. Confused and angry, he fell back asleep, determined to get as much sleep as possible until the second ghost came.

* * *

**This was a little longer than normal. Oh, well. I'm satisfied with the result.  
Sleigh Ride belongs to...whoever wrote it.**

**This chapter has been updated to the new cast of characters- Roark is now Silver's cousin, not Wally. Wally is Silver's...umm...second cousin?  
And don't ask about the Ghost of Christmas A- thing. This is a positive reading environment, and I refuse any bad language in my stories. (That should answer your questions.)**

**The Ghost of Christmas Past will be a familiar face from Generation III, green in hue and gaining a specialty in speed as it grows.  
**


	4. I am the Ghost of Christmas Trees

**Uh! This paper is disgusting! What happened?  
SOMEONE SET US UP THE BOMB!  
We get signal!  
What?  
Main screen turn on!  
****Okay, I've made the reference. Don't choke me, now. Choking is bad for my health..  
****The first two Ghosts of Christmas are not as random as you think! In the Disney A Christmas Carol (the new one), the Ghost of Past is a candle. Magikarp is orange. The Ghost of Present is fat and wear's a lot of green (a friend of mine, one of my brothers and I decided he's also high and drunk), Treecko (spoilers for this chapter! Ha!) is...well, he's green! Okay? I'm not sending a Venasaur in! Besides, Magikarp was in Generation 1, Treecko is in Generation 2, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come is in Generation 5! (Trust me, I should know.) It makes sense! Just...it makes sense to me.**

**Disclaimer: You know what belongs to who. I'm not sure just what belongs to what person, but they know, and that's good enough for me.**

* * *

Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house,  
Only one creature stirred, just one little mouse.

"Sorry!" the mouse squeaked as it fled into a mouse hole.

In his bed, Silver just started to dream,  
When he woke with a fright, for the bell tolled three.

"One, two, three," Silver counted under his breath. Nothing happened. "Is somebody there?"

A Treecko poked its head over Silver's bed. "Oh, there you are."

"Are you the second spirit?" Silver asked.

"Huh?" the Treecko inquired.

"Are you the second ghost that is supposed to appear to me tonight?" Silver repeated.

"Of course." the Treecko sounded offended. "I am the Ghost of Christmas Present."

"Can we just get this over with, then?" Silver asked.

"Not with that attitude. You must approach this with an open mind, or you know what your fate will be."

"I'll open my mind," Silver promised. "I just really need to get some sleep, and you all are-"

"Trying to improve your life," Treecko agreed. "Here, hold on to this...little...thing." the Treecko held out a gold...thing to Silver.

"What is that?" Silver demanded.

"If it'll make you feel better, it's magic," Treecko said.

"Whatever," Silver muttered, grabbing the gold 'magic'.

Immediately all of the beds in the room (hey, it's a Pokemon Center, more than one person can stay there at a time) disappeared, as well as most of the floor. The floors on the edges of the room remained intact, and this is where the Ghost and Silver tried to keep their balance. The disappeared floor turned into images of what would happen the next day, circling around random buildings and closing in on random people. As this happened, random music began to play.

_If I could write you a song,_  
_and make you fall in love,_  
_I would already have you up under my arm._  
_I used to pull all my tricks,_  
_I hope that you like this._  
_but you probably won't,_  
_you think you're cooler than me._

"What's with the crappy music tonight?" Silver demanded.

"Sorry!" the Ghost apologized. "We all have 'theme music' that plays when we are doing our work, and it changes every Christmas to a song beyond our control. Apparently this year for the music it was the Year of the Stupid, Dumb, and Annoying."

_You got designer shades,_  
_just to hide your face and _  
_you wear them around like _  
_you're cooler than me._  
_And you never say hey,_  
_or remember my name._  
_It's probably cuz, _  
_you think you're cooler than me_.

"How many people could possibly like this song?" Silver asked.

"...5?" the Ghost guessed. "It's popular."

Silver groaned.

"Hey, look!" the Ghost exclaimed. "This is what we're looking for!" The music stopped playing abruptly as the image focused in on a house. "Do you recognize this house?"

"Recognize it?" Silver asked softly. This was a house he knew better than almost any other. "Of course I do. This is my cousin Roark's house."

Inside, some random lady who one could presume was either Roark's wife or housekeeper, more likely his wife, was rushing around the house, cleaning and preparing for Christmas dinner. Other than her, the house was empty.

"Where's Roark?" Silver asked. "And Wally?"

"Why, at church for the Christmas service, of course," Treecko replied. "Roark goes every year, and this is the first year he's taken Wally with him."

Silver watched silently as Roark and Wally walked into the house.

"We're back," Roark told the random lady who is presumed to be his wife.

"I'm glad you're back safe and sound," the lady presumed to be Roark's wife replied. "Did Wally behave himself."

"Of course I did, Ma," Wally told her, confirming suspicions that this was indeed Roark's wife.

"He was an angel," Roark assured his random wife.

Wally beamed before being taken over by a bad bout of coughing*

"Wally, are you okay?" Roark's wife asked him. "Don't worry, dear, I'll brew you some tea."

"Spirit..." Silver said. "Please tell me...will..."

"I see a vacant seat in the corner by the chimney," the Ghost told him grimly. "Next to the empty seat are two broken hearts, wishing if only..."

Silver continued to look at the scene below him and sighed.

Roark's random wife came back in with a cup of tea, which she gave to Wally. "Did you get the goose?"

"Of course we did," Roark assured her, holding up a goose. It looked small and pitiful to Silver, but to Roark and his family it was huge.

Roark's wife grinned in delight. "What a wonderful goose!"

"We will dine well tonight," Roark agreed.

Silver looked at the Ghost. "Are you sure...?"

"If your fate doesn't change and the child doesn't get the proper medicine he needs, he will certainly die," the Ghost told Silver.

The scene around them vanished, and the Ghost and Silver seemed to be in some kind of dark void.

"Where are we?" Silver demanded. "I can't see!"

"Always look to the light, Silver," the Ghost told him. Silver barely noticed that the Treecko was now wearing a robe. "The light holds the answers you seek, but you shall not find them."

Silver saw something coming out of the bottom of the Ghost's robe, perhaps a foot but more claw-like. "What's that, there? Is that a claw?"

"Perhaps it is a claw," the Treecko agreed as two figures came out frome under his robe and rose- one, a small boy, the other a small girl.

"Who do they belong to?" Silver asked, amazed at their ragged appearance.

"They belong to all of mankind," the Ghost told him. "Beware of them, for the boy is Ignorance, and the girl is Selfishness.

Ignorance and Selfishness both looked at Silver and laughed at him.

"'I'd let it rot in the darkest, most haunting alley if I could'," Ignorance cackled as he began to disappear. "'Christmas has done no more good to me than any other day'!"

"'Christmas'?" Selfishness jeered. "'What reason could you possibly have to be merry'?"

The Treecko laughed as Silver stared in horror at what he realized were manifestations of his own heart.

* * *

Silver awoke, gasping for breath, as the clock tolled the time.

5 o'clock.

A shadowy figure appeared on the opposite side of the room.

* * *

*** Don't you love awkward wordings of words?**  
** See the first asterisk.**

* * *

**In case you're wondering, I do have a junior novel of Disney's A Christmas Carol, which I am using as a reference, as I do not have a copy of the original story.**  
**I do have a copy of the original movie. I don't know where it is.**  
**Well, in the Disney movie, that scene with Ignorance and Selfishness, whom I believe is Want in the movie, isn't creepy at all. (It is.) That scene was very obviously that scene. With minor changes. But hey, Treecko can do what he wants, since apparently he's a bit...crazy.**

**Wow! I pressed enter and now everything looks all weird! Well...who IS the last Ghost going to be? Stay tuned to find out! **


	5. I am an Otter! What now?

**After last chapter, I need to get 'Cooler Than Me' out of my head. I forgot to mention I hate that song, which you probably guessed. It played at the Christmas Ball (which I went to), so I did what any person who hates a song does. I danced to it and mouthed it, just to rub it into the song's face how bad it is. So now, any song will do, ANY song, just please get 'Cooler Than Me' out of my head-  
"Hot Drinks- REALLY get you going!"  
DIE WENDY'S, DIE!  
Well, I _would_ assume that NO ONE wants Oshawott, but after looking at its evolutions...Daikenki looks AWESOME! I'm considering getting Oshawott just to have that thing. It's like, I don't know, a walrus or something with a Kingler's arm or something for a horn. It's AWESOME. Impossible to describe. Then again, all three of the starter evolutions are that cool. But Tepig's is not as awesome as the other two, sorry. And...you named a Pokemon Chaoboo? Wow.  
And now you probably know who the last Ghost is- Generation 5 Water Pokemon Starter Oshawott, the clown otter.**

* * *

"Who are you?" Silver demanded, staring at the shadowy figure.

The figure said nothing. It was short and covered with a cloak too big for its body. It seemed to be pointing at him with what could only be described as a little stubby paw.

"What do you want?" Silver asked.

The shadowy figure pointed again, this time at the window. "Come," it said in a voice that sounded like a hiss.

Silver decided there wasn't much he could do but obey. He rose and walked towards the window, following the figure through the window and onto the ground below.

"I am the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come," it hissed. "I have come to show you what your life will be like if you don't change, and what life will be like when your time comes."

The bell tolled. Silver turned to look at it and saw it was speeding forward at a rapid pace. In seconds, dawn had come. Silver saw himself leave the Pokemon Center as he had done many mornings. However, when night fell, Silver didn't come back. After a minute dawn came once more, and Silver still hadn't showed up. Many nights and dawns passed, until suddenly the clock went back to normal speed. To Silver, it felt like time had completely stopped.

"Come," the Ghost hissed.

The two were no longer in Cianwood City, but were now in New Bark Town. The future Silver was standing in the same place he used to stand before he got his first Pokemon, next to Professor Elm's Lab, looking in the window. However, instead of looking in the window, Silver was now looking at a Poke Ball that the present Silver automatically recognized to be his Meganium.

"You were my first Pokemon..." the future Silver muttered. "But I chose the wrong Pokemon to take. You're weak, and you always have been. I've relied on you for many victories that you provided, but that's not good enough. The battles I needed you the most, whenever I needed you to defeat Gold, you always failed me. You're a Meganium, he had a Feraligator. You had the upper hand every time, and you still failed. Of all the Pokemon I picked, why did I have to choose you?"

The present Silver felt a stab of pity for his Meganium. It never defeated Gold, but it always had been there for him. Was he really this cruel?

"I don't tolerate failures like you," the future Silver told his Meganium. He released the Meganium into Professor Elm's Lab and dropped the Poke Ball on the ground. "Let some other Trainer deal with you." Silver then walked away, leaving his Meganium for the last time.

The present Silver held his Meganium's Poke Ball in his hand. "You were my first Pokemon. I'd never-"

"Don't be so sure," the Ghost hissed. "Don't tell me you've never been frustrated with your Meganium because it can't handle a Pokemon it should be able to easily destroy."

Silver found that he couldn't reply to this.

A bell tolled once more. Silver looked at his Pokegear his father had given him for his 12th birthday and saw that once again, time was speeding up rapidly. Less days and nights passed before time abruptly slowed down.

This time, the spirit took Silver to the Lake of Rage. There seemed to be a problem with too many Gyarados populating the area, and Lance was there to try to bring the situation under control. He released his Dragonite from its Poke Ball when he was interrupted by a voice.

"Lance!" Silver looked towards the direction the voice came from and saw himself once more, running into the scene. "I challenge you to a rematch!"

"You again?" Lance asked. "I've told you, you need to care more about your Pokemon if you want to stand a chance against me, and I doubt you've done that. I'd be happen to teach you that lesson for the millionth time as our former comrade, Gold, had on numerous occasions, but I'm a little busy right now. Later, okay?"

"I'm tired of you treating me like a little boy pestering his mother for the newest trinket!" the future Silver said.

"I feel like you are that boy right now," Lance retorted.

"I'm stronger than I was before," Silver insisted. "This time I won't be defeated so easily."

"I'll tell you what," Lance said. "If you help me with this Gyarados issue, then I'll battle you. Deal?"

"That works for me," Silver agreed, letting out a Magneton from its Poke Ball.

"Great, now don't deal with any more Gyar-"

"Thunder!"

In a couple of seconds, almost all the Gyarados had fainted, save for about 5.

"-than we need to," Lance finished. "Well, it can't be helped. Ready?"

"More than I ever will be. Magneton, return!" The future Silver returned his Magneton to its Pokeball. "Go, Sneasel!"

"Alright, Altaria, let's do this." Lance released Altaria from its Poke Ball.

The present Silver watched this battle unfold. Each one of his Pokemon were quickly defeated by Lance's superior Dragon types. As the battle went on, Silver noticed many Pokemon Lance could have used instead for each Pokemon to make the battle to his advantage, such as Charizard against his Sneasel, but Lance didn't seem to be trying too hard. Each one of his Pokemon- Crobat, Magneton, Gengar, Sneasel, Alakazam, and Blastoise- were easily defeated by Pokemon they would have dominated if this were any other Trainer. The battle was short and left the future Silver extremely frustrated.

"How?" the future Silver asked himself. "I accounted for all of his weaknesses."

"I'll tell you the same thing I've told you before," Lance told him. "You're good, but if you want to get better you need to care for your Pokemon."

The present Silver had to admit that maybe his Blastoise would have done better if the future Silver had seemed to care about it at all, but this only furthered the future Silver's anger.

"Show them compassion? They'd never work as hard. It's better to be feared than for others to care."

"If that's what you think," Lance said. "Then you'll never advance as a Trainer. When I said good, I meant average. And if things don't change for you, this will be your prime as a Pokemon Trainer."

"There's more," the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come continued. Time sped up, and Silver was shown more scenes of his future. Each one seemed worse than the last, showing his future to be more self-centered and selfish each day. With each scene, less time passed- not only was Silver becoming more harsh and selfish, but he showed this more often as it progressed.

This continued until the two reached Lavender Town, where Silver saw the worst scene yet.

* * *

**Cliffhanger! I win!  
This Ghost's Theme Music doesn't come until later. And I already revealed what Pokemon it is, too. Too bad Silver doesn't know he's taking a clown/sea otter hybrid so seriously.**

**I guess that in order to accomplish what I want to accomplish with Oshawott, I need another chapter. And for that to happen, you must wait.**

**Toodles! **


	6. Never Changing

**That's enough of a cliffhanger. Wanted to wait a bit to make at least one person lying in wait, the curiosity BURNING at their soul until they HAVE to know right now, and they check and there isn't anything there. I'm evil, aren't I? But alas, this story needs to be updated so I can work on my New Year's one-shot as well as some other things.  
See? Aren't you glad I have this Netbook now? Not only can I Skype people, but now I will update more often! Of course, the Mario Kart...it BURNS us...  
Anyway, this should be the conclusion of Oshawott's part. No, the only thing that fueled the crazy things you see are a crazy mind that's half-asleep. Here you shall find the last of Silver's visions, a creation gone a little nuts...torment...  
And just plain wacky things.  
Disclaimer: I own this, blah blah blah. Don't own this, blah blah blah. This person owns this, blah blah blah. This person owns THIS, blah blah blah. Christmas carols are fun to sing at random, blah blah blah. And THIS person owns THIS, blah blah blah.**

* * *

Lavender Town...

"This is the last vision of your future," the Ghost hissed.

Silver looked around. "I don't see anything."

"Then perhaps we should turn on our Gamesharks and fly," the Ghost suggested (with a hiss).

"Game...sharks?" Silver asked. Then he realized something. "Alien technology, no doubt. THAT'S how Gold was riding his bike inside the Sprout Tower with his level 129 Deoxys!"*

"Precisely!" the Ghost hissed. "Now, come." The Ghost flew into the sky, and Silver somehow floated up with him. The two rose into the air until they were eye-level with the highest window in the Town and flew to said window.

Inside many things could be seen. That depends on the individual person. One person reported that there was an error message inside the window. One person went up to the window and died, simply by breaking the laws of video games. One person saw nothing, but came down with a sign on his back saying "HACKS FOR THE WIN!". One person saw a blue cow doing the hula while she made her ducklings play limbo on a candlestick full of lima beans, but that person forgot to take their medication that day.

As for Silver, he saw a vision of his future.

Inside, Mr. Giovanni...erm...is that his last name? First name? Whatever. Inside, Giovanni was holding the Director of the Kanto Radio Tower hostage.

"Why exactly are you holding me hostage?" the Director asked. "What are your motives?"

"We don't have any," Giovanni replied.

"None? At all? No reason whatsoever?"

"None at all."

"THEN WHY AM I A HOSTAGE?"

"Because this is Team-freaking-Rocket, sir. We do whatever we want to, at no cost to anyone."

"I'm glad to know I won't receive a bill for the damage," the Director muttered.

"SILENCE!" Giovanni shouted. His voice dropped to a whisper. "Someone approaches."

_Deck the halls with balls of holly  
Falalalala, lalaaaalaaaaaaala!_

"What's that noise?" Giovanni asked.

"We're playing Christmas music over the radio, sir," the Director reported. "It is the yuletide season."

"Forget the yuletide season," Giovanni told him. "You shall only play Team Rocket's theme while we are here."

"Hold it right there," an almost bored voice said as future-Silver (who is now FSilver) walked into the room.

"Son," Giovanni greeted FSilver.

"Father."

A mouse crawled through the wall, interrupting the story line for a few seconds, but no one seemed to notice.

"How have you been?" Giovanni asked. "I haven't seen you in ages."

"Spare me the courtesies," FSilver told him. "I'm not here to see you or anything,"

"Then why are you here?"

"I've come to get the radio back. You and your stupid Team Rocket have ruined Kanto's radio, and I'd like the music back."

"You just need the Poke Flute station to catch a Snorlax, don't you?" Giovanni sneered.

"Forsooth. But I like listening to random lullabies, Christmas music, and other such tunes as well."

"And the chances I'll do what you say...?"

"Zero. But I will use force if you wish."

Giovanni laughed. "You've spurned my offer of joining Team Rocket all these years, son, and I'm proud of your rebellious nature. But I've been watching you, seeing how you battle, noticing how you act towards other people. And as much as you don't want to be one of us, Silver, you've certainly got our attitude."

"Attitude?" FSilver asked.

"You've got the personality of a Rocket," Giovanni explained. "even if you aren't one of us. I'm sure that with the right clothing choices, people would swear right and left that you're a Rocket."

Silver stared at the scene in shock. "But...I...I don't...really act...really act like...like a...a Rocket, do I?"

The Ghost said nothing.

FSilver sighed. "Will you get on with your speech already? I hate listening to essays."

"Very well," Giovanni agreed. "I'm going to offer you one more time. This is your last time, so listen carefully and think about your decision: Will you become a Rocket?"

Silver was surprised that his future-self would even consider such a proposition. "I'd never even consider such a ridiculous-"

"Watch," the Ghost growled.

"I've made a decision," FSilver told him. "I'll play your little game for awhile, at least, but this better be worth it."

Giovanni laughed. "Excellent! Now for your first action as a Rocket-"

"We're done here," the Ghost hissed. Silver realized that they were now on the ground, and those last words he'd only heard. "You have seen what you will become."

"B-but only if I continue down my current path, correct?" Silver asked hopefully.

"FOOL!" the Ghost hissed loudly, startling Silver. "I have one thing left to show you, but it's not something you watch. It's something you see, and when you see, you _know_, and once you know, you _believe._"

Silver blinked, trying to make sense of this last sentence. "Okay..."

The Ghost took a step southward, but as he stepped, he tripped. Making contact with the ground, his hood flew off his head, revealing the head of-

"You're an Oshawott?" Silver asked.

He stole the line, but yes, the Ghost is an Oshawott. Jerk.

"Any jokes, any sarcasm, and laughter, and you're dead, capisce?" Oshawott hissed. "My existence isn't known quite worldwide, but everyone pokes fun at the otter in a clown suit. I'm not a CLOWN, I'm a SEA OTTER, and therefore I do not exist to be laughed at."

"Alright," Silver agreed.

"Good, now follow me," Oshawott growled, and they teleported to a graveyard. "Welcome to your future."

Silver looked around. "Why am I here?"

"You're looking for Grave number 1375839020, which is right over here." Oshawott gestured to a large gravestone nearby.

Silver walked over to the grave and saw it was covered in snow. He brushed off some snow on the grave to reveal his own name written on the grave. Brushing off more snow, he saw his own birth date. Brushing off even more snow than that, he saw a date.

A death date, but the year was still covered.

He would die on Christmas day.

"Why do you show me this?" Silver asked the Ghost. "Am I to die now?"

"Perhaps you are," Oshawott agreed. "If you are, it is at my own hands."

"I've done nothing to you, kind spirit."

"All have done bad towards my kind," Oshawott hissed in disgust, although it was a little hard to tell. "No one feels pity towards the ugly Pokemon no one wants. I was killed by a group of young children who through rocks at me because they thought it was funny. I seek vengeance on all, even in death."

Silver stared at the Ghost in horror.

"You never will change," Oshawott spat. "You're Silver, and you'll always be this way. No matter what we show you, your path has been set. You WILL turn into the monster you saw disguised as yourself. I only went along with the superiors to make them happy. I don't want to start a scene, now, do I?"

A whirlwind of snow whipped up around Silver. Just then, the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come's theme music started up.

_I don't want a lot for Christmas _  
_There's just one thing I need _  
_I don't care about the presents _  
_Underneath the Christmas tree _

"Of course I get the unfitting theme music," Oshawott muttered. "My superiors must find this hilarious."

_I just want you for my own _  
_More than you could ever know _  
_Make my wish come true _  
_All I want for Christmas is... _  
_You _

"I wouldn't complain," Silver told him. "This is the best song I've heard all night."

"Why thank you." Oshawott smiled, and Silver hoped he was safe. But the whirlwind whipped up again, faster and stronger than before, and the ground began to crumble at Silver's feet. "However, as nice a flattery is, it gets you nowhere. One lesson you've learned too late."

"I'll change!" Silver shouted over the wind. "I promise, I'm a new person now!"

Oshawott laughed. "That's just as stupid as Fred's 'I'm a guy no more' comment. So who are you now?"

"A changed person," Silver told him.

"Don't make me laugh, boy," Oshawott hissed. "You're the same as you always have been, and you always will be the same person you are now. Feel the ground crumble under your feet? A hole will appear, and you will die."

Silver looked down at the ground nervously.

"Any last words?" Oshawott asked with a laugh.

"I don't want to die," Silver whispered.

"How boring," Oshawott sighed. "Something new, for my sake."

* * *

**That's one Oshawott on a mission right there.  
That's actually something Fred said in the new Scooby Doo series on Cartoon Network in an episode where he discovers he has feelings for traps AND Daphne. He then rushes to her and tells her he's no longer a guy, to which everyone watching the show burst into hysterics. That cannot be a line meant to be taken seriously.  
Ah, an asterisk beckons.  
*Go on. I DARE YOU. DO IT.**

**So...what's up with the Oshawott anyway? Why does he want to kill Silver? **

**Will Silver change?  
Forget change, shall Silver survive? (That's an obvious ques-) SHUDDUP! **


	7. Guardian Articuno Saves the Day

**This thing generally doesn't like the Document Manager for making lines in a chapter, but whatever. It's not that hard.  
Yes, this ghost really doesn't make a whole lot of sense. But I do feel bad for the poor otter, and something about an Oshawott wanting revenge for all the hate Pokemon fans I know give it just appeals to me. Besides, it makes the story longer and overshadows the poor excuse for a New Year's Special over there. Poor Aubrey. I hate you.  
So anyway, for this chapter, I'm thinking about an Adventure Time reference, but I'm not sure what I could do with that. I'd need something evil with wings...Oshawott's evolutions don't have wings...what to do. Other than the possible reference, Silver's possible death. Then I need to think of something original for the last chapter, as I don't feel like stumbling into the obvious.**

* * *

"Come on," Oshawott pressed Silver. "Give me some better last words. I want to make this enjoyable."

The ground crumbled more under Silver's feet.

"HOLY FREAKING CRAP!" Silver screamed. "I'M GONNA DIE! THE GROUND'S GOING TO DISAPPEAR UNDER ME AND I'M GOING TO DIE!"

"A little better," Oshawott agreed.

"I DON'T WANT TO DIE AT THE HANDS OF AN EVIL OTTER THAT HAS A PART-TIME AS A CLOWN IN ORDER TO PLAN HIS REVENGE AT THOSE WHO LAUGH AT HIM!" Silver continued.

"How'd you guess?" Oshawott demanded.

"Not that hard," Silver told him, breaking out of his scream. Then the ground began to crumble again. "I'M GOING TO DIE!"

"Yes."

"AT THE HANDS OF AN OTTER!"

"SEA otter."

"AFTER I SAW A VISION OF MYSELF JOINING TEAM ROCKET!"

"Mmhm."

"FREE ICE CREAM FOR EVERYONE!"

"What?" Ice cream appeared in Oshawott's stubby paw things. "Well, nothing's wrong with that." He then began to eat said ice cream.

"HA!" Silver laughed. "I'm in control here, not you, aren't I?"

"Uhh..."

"I control what's going on. I don't have to die now, do I? I can go on and live in peace."

"Yeah, about that..." The ground under Silver's feet disappeared completely to reveal a pit of boiling lava. "I'm the one in control here, buddy. I just wanted some ice cream."

Silver started to fall down the pit. Of course he screamed, but it's easier just to watch him fall in slow motion.

Falling...slowly...with a radiant white light picking him up seconds before he he reached the lava.

"Who-who are you?" Silver asked.

"Do not fear, I'm not an evil ghost," the radiant white light told him. It then morphed into what is assumed to be its true form. "I am your Guardian Articuno." The Articuno dropped Silver down on the ground and then disappeared with a big explosion. "CA-CAAW!"

"How am I supposed to defeat an evil clown sea otter?" Silver asked.

Just then, he realized something.

Oshawott was a Pokemon.

All of the viewers moaned at his ignorance.

"Go, Meganium!" Silver released his Meganium from its Poke Ball.

"A Pokemon battle, huh?" Oshawott asked. "OSHAWOTT! DIGIVOLVE TO..."

"You're not a Digimon," Silver pointed out. "Meganium, use Solar Beam."

"DAIKENKI!" Oshawott turned into a Daikenki as Meganium charged its Solar Beam. "A Solar Beam? How cute."

Silver laughed. "You laugh in the face of your death?"

"I'm a ghost. I can't die," Daikenki pointed out. "I'm going to introduce you Meganium to my good friend HYDRO PUMP!" Daikenki released its Hydro Pump.

Just then, Meganium released its Solar Beam.

"Guardian Articuno? What do I do now?" Silver asked the sky as the two Pokemon unleashed their attacks.

"You CA-CAAW!" a voice that sounded like Articuno shouted.

"Umm...ca-caaw?" Silver said.

Solar Beam and Hydro Pump met each other then and began fighting against each other to see which attack was stronger.

"ROTATE YOUR CONTROL STICK!" Articuno, who still wasn't there, shouted at Silver.

"What does that mean?" Silver asked. Just then, a game controller appeared in his hands, with a gray stick-like object sticking out of the middle. Not sure what else to do, Silver rotated the stick around the controller.

* * *

"Silver?" A voice said.

Silver opened his eyes and looked around. "Where am I now?"

"Welcome to the world of ghost Pokemon!" An Oshawott was right in Silver's face. "We rescued you."

Silver screamed. "Don't kill me! I swear, I have nothing against you!"

The Oshawott looked confused. "What are you talking about? I've never met you before."

"But you're that Oshawott," Silver pointed out.

"Calm down, Silver," a Pichu told him. The Pichu turned to the Oshawott. "He just got out of a bad encounter with a crazy Oshawott."

"Oh." The Oshawott smiled at Silver. "Don't worry. You're safe here."

"As my friend said, welcome to the world of ghost Pokemon," Pichu said to Silver. "Sorry about the last ghost, we had no idea he was trying to kill everyone."

"Yeah..." Silver said.

"However, the visions he showed you will happen if you don't change." Pichu frowned. "Now you need to leave."

"Why?"

"It's Christmas morning, silly! Merry Christmas!"

* * *

**You cannot deny it. Pichu is adorable.  
I have no idea if Daikenki can learn Hydro Pump. Just go with it. It makes more sense than Water Gun.**

**Poor Silver. Hopefully he won't use Oshawott as his starter Pokemon in Pokemon Black/White, I can just imagine him picking up the Poke Ball, releasing the Oshawott, and begging for mercy.**

**"Since you used this Pokemon to save me/save yourself/chose this Pokemon yourself, I want you to have it."  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"**

**Next chapter? Some kind of ending to show whether Silver changed or not. Either way, he did- that Oshawott did some psychological damage. But has he changed his attitude?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon, Adventure Time, any given Dragonball game, Digimon, or YGOTAS. If there are any other references I didn't catch, I don't own those things either. I do, however, own the evil Oshawott. Not really. **


	8. Hotel Silver

**I discovered how to create an interesting ending. In order to do that, I will be making many references to many things. At the end I'll disclaim anything I reference. Have fun trying to make sense of this as your mind explodes. Or possibly something like that.  
Try to find all the references! Well, if you want. If you don't, just check the disclaimer.  
**

* * *

_"What happen?" Silver asked._

_"Someone set up us the bomb," Lance said._

_"We get signal," Gold announced._

_"What?" Silver inquired._

_"Main screen turn on," Gold narrated what was happening._

_"It's YOU!" Silver shouted._

_"How are you gentlemen!" Giovanni shouted. "All your base are belong to us. You are on the way to destruction."_

_"What you say!" Silver demanded._

_"You have no chance to survive make your time," Giovanni told him. "Ha ha ha." Giovanni disappeared from the main screen._

* * *

Silver awoke with a gasp. He wasn't sure whether that last part had anything to do with his past dreams, but either way he decided to ignore it. No matter what, it didn't make sense.

Getting out of bed, Silver was about to open the door when it opened from the other side, revealing a tall, skinny man with black hair that was starting to turn gray. He wore a hat and had a mustache.

"Greetings, young sir," the man said. "My name is Geovanno. I'm here to clean a window."

"There's a window back there." Silver pointed at the window in the room.

"Great. Thank you, sir." Geovanno bowed and walked to the window. He then proceeded to clean it.

Silver ignored Geovanno and walked into the main room of the Pokemon Center to see Nurse Joy standing behind the counter as usual. "Nurse Joy?"

"Yes?" Nurse Joy asked.

"What day is today?"

"Christmas, of course. Did you bump your head or something?"

"Thanks," Silver thanked her. So all of those events really did take place in one night. He walked out of the Pokemon Center and saw a piece of paper crumpled up on the ground. Picking up the piece of paper and unfolding it, he read it silently to himself.

_Silver,_

_Team Rocket and I have taken over Silph Co. We also kidnapped your Meganium because we could. I dare you to figure out where we're keeping your Meganium. _

_Giovanni_

"I have to find Meganium," Silver said to himself. He then noticed a note added onto the bottom of the letter.

_P.S. If you need instructions on how to rescue Meganium, check out the enclosed instruction book._

"Enclosed instruction book?" Silver asked. He then noticed a small book on the ground near where he found the note that said 'Instruction Book' on the cover. He picked it up and began to read.

_How to Rescue Meganium_

_First, you take a leisurely stroll and hope that someone who invited you on a picnic made lots of spaghetti. Then, find a note on a gate. Read it out loud. Then you say 'We gotta rescue Meganium'! Then, you say 'And YOU gotta help us!' Then, you say 'If you need instructions on how to get through the hotels, check out the enclosed instruction book'. Then, you get out of there! But most importantly, you need to tell someone you trust, like a Mama Luigi or a Bowser._

Silver flipped through the instruction book, but nothing was relevant to the situation. Sighing, he folded up the instruction book and put it in his pocket. He had a pretty good idea on where Giovanni was keeping his Meganium. He released his Crobat.

"Crobat, fly me to Saffron City," Silver ordered.*

* * *

Meanwhile, in Saffron City, a shiny Pichu lead its Trainer to the Silph Co. building. "Pichu pichu!"

"What is it, Pichu?" Lyra asked. On the door of the Silph Co. building, she found a note.

_Silver,_

_You guessed wrong! _

_P.S. You really should check the enclosed instruction book._

Lyra blinked. "Well, that's sort of random. I don't know a Silver. Besides, I don't have an instruction book, so there's not much I can do anyway. That's too bad. Come on, Pichu, we need to hurry. There's almost no time left to fight Whitney!"

"Pi...chu..." Pichu sighed, looking back at the building before following its Trainer.

* * *

Silver arrived in Saffron City, putting his Crobat back in its Poke Ball. "Now all I have to do is find the Silph Co. building..."

"If your name is Silver, what you're looking for isn't there," Lyra said as she randomly walked by. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to heal my Pokemon so I can fight Whitney again."

"Wait!" Silver exclaimed. "Who are you? And how do you know-" He stopped asking questions. Lyra had already entered the Pokemon Center.

Silver sighed. "Well, I probably should go see for myself what she's talking about." He walked over to the Silph Co. building and read the note. Taking out the instruction book again and looked at the Table of Contents.

_Page 1... How to rescue Meganium  
Page 2... How to Keep the Mushroom Kingdom Tidy  
Page 3... How to Read  
Page 4... Why you shouldn't climb inside a Washing Machine* *  
Page 5... THIS IS THE PAGE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR! (HINT, HINT)  
Page 6... Why you should Catch that Luigi_

"I'm looking for page 5..." Silver said to himself as he turned to page 5.

_THIS IS THE PAGE YOU'RE LOOKING FOR! (HINT, HINT)_

_You're probably here because you can't find Meganium. Why? Well, if a ghost says something to you, you really should listen to it!_

_If that doesn't give you any clues, you're horrible at this game. In that case, I refuse to help you. Good day, sir._

"'If a ghost says something to you, you really should listen to it...'" Silver read out loud. "Who MADE this instruction book? Giovanni couldn't know about..." He then realized what the instruction book was talking about. "The Pokemon Tower! Of course!" He rereleased his Crobat. "Crobat, take me to Lavender Town!"

Crobat sighed. "Crobat Crobat." Crobat then flew Silver to Lavender Town.

* * *

Meanwhile, in the Mushroom Kingdom...

Luigi was being chased by four Marios at the same time.

"Hey, you! Get off of my cloud!" the four Mario's shouted, giving the exclamation an echoing effect. "Toast, toast."

"I knew I shouldn't mess with the cloning machine," Luigi moaned as he ran.

* * *

Silver arrived in Lavender Town. Without saying a word, he put his Crobat back in his Poke Ball and walked over to the Pokemon Tower. Various people wearing black clothing were standing around, confirming Silver's suspicions that Team Rocket was up to no good in this town. He was about to enter the Pokemon Tower when a police officer in blue stopped him.

"Hold it right there, kid," the Police Officer said. "You can't go in there."

"Why not?" Silver asked.

"The building's under construction, kid," the Police Officer said. "No one's allowed in there."

Silver walked away. "So Meganium's not in there..." He tried to figure out where Giovanni was keeping his Meganium. "Well, he was in the Pokemon Tower, but no one's allowed in there...maybe we weren't really in the Pokemon Tower. I wouldn't put anything past that Oshawott."

"What's an Oshawott?" a small child near the future Radio Tower asked.

"A Pokemon that isn't from the region," Silver told the small child.

"Oh. Hey, do you believe in ghosts?"

"Ghosts? Well, I don't really have much choice in the matter, but yes, I believe in ghosts."

"So...there ARE believers..." the small child mused.

"Yes, well, the Pokemon Tower is being remodeled, right?" Silver asked, hoping the small child could unwittingly help him.

"I wouldn't say remodeled, really. They're replacing it with a Radio Tower and need to do some construction to make the Tower actually work the way it's supposed to," the small child told him.

"They still have some place to keep the graves of Pokemon, right?" Silver inquired. "They have to keep them somewhere."

"Of course. They moved the gravesites to old man Fuji's house."

"Mr. Fuji who was kidnapped by Team Rocket three years ago?"

"I don't know about the Team Rocket thing, but yup, that's him."

Silver nodded. "Yeah, thanks." He then walked over to Mr. Fuji's house and entered the building.

* * *

Inside the building, Silver looked around. Everything seemed like it had in the Pokemon Tower the one or two times he'd been in there. There were graves all over the place and people were standing near them, paying their respects. The only thing that seemed different was that a staircase was being blocked by Mr. Fuji.

Silver walked up to Mr. Fuji. "Excuse me sir, but did have you seen any suspicious-looking individuals enter this building?"

"I'm looking at one right now," Mr. Fuji grumbled.

Silver sighed. "Maybe I'm suspicious, but I'm not talking about me. I mean anyone dressed completely in black and threatening to cause trouble."

"You mean those hooligans past this staircase?" Mr. Fuji asked. "They came in and demanded entry past this staircase. I refused, as I do to anyone who asks, but they pushed me aside and went past anyway. I'd go after them, of course, but when they pushed me it hurt my back, and it hurt enough just to come back and block the staircase again."

"I need to go after them," Silver told him.

"You're not one of them, are you?" Mr. Fuji asked suspiciously.

"They left me this note and this book." Silver showed him the first note and the instruction book. "They stole my Meganium, and I'm extremely sure they're keeping Meganium farther within this building."

"Hmm..." Mr. Fuji considered Silver's request.

"Please, Mr. Fuji. I have to rescue my Meganium. That Meganium was my first Pokemon, and if I don't get my Meganium back, I..." Silver trailed off as Mr. Fuji smiled.

"You seem to care quite a bit about this Meganium, don't you?" Mr. Fuji asked. "Very well, I'll let you go through, but you better get those people in black out of there as well when you come out."

"Of course," Silver nodded. Mr. Fuji moved aside for Silver, and Silver rushed up the staircase as Mr. Fuji moved back to his position in front of the staircase, forever guarding the rest of the building from...whatever he wanted to guard it against.

* * *

Running through the building and climbing more staircases, Silver kept an eye out for Giovanni or any member of Team Rocket. After climbing many staircases and taking a quick lunch break, he finally found Giovanni.

"So, you actually came," Giovanni commented.

"Of course I came!" Silver told him. "You stole my Meganium. Did you think I wouldn't try to get it back?"

"I wasn't sure." Giovanni held up a Poke Ball. "If you want this Meganium back, you'll have to battle me for it."

Silver smirked. "Alright then. Go, Crobat!" Silver released his Crobat from its Poke Ball.

"You're using that little thing?" Giovanni sneered. "Alright then. Go, Kanghaskhan!"***

Kanghakhan was released from its Poke Ball.

"You know my specialty is Ground Pokemon, Silver. Many ground types know rock moves, which you should also know. So why risk your Crobat like that?" Giovanni asked.

"Crobat, use Close Combat," Silver ordered.

"Close Com-what now?" Giovanni inquired.****

Next thing either one of them knew, Kanghaskhan had fainted.

Giovanni blinked. "Uh...you can have your Meganium back."

"Thanks." Silver took Meganium's Poke Ball from Giovanni. "I might see you later, father." Silver then used an Escape Rope to leave.

* * *

Dragon's Den...

Clair walked onto the back of the Dragon's Den, surprised to see Silver with his Meganium. "You again? What do you want?"

"Want?" Silver asked. "I don't want anything. I'm training my Meganium."

"Training it?" Clair asked, looking around. No Pokemon were on the shrine other than the Meganium. "How?"

"We're becoming better friends," Silver told her.

Clair smiled. "Looks like you finally learned your lesson.

* * *

Mushroom Kingdom...

"Expecting a famous last quote?" Waluigi asked. "Too bad. WALUIGI TIME!"

* * *

**GOD BLESS US, EVERY WAAAAA!**

***It makes sense that Crobat could learn fly. If it can't, I don't really care all that much. Bah, humbug.  
On that subject, I don't know if Crobat can learn Close Combat either, but whatever.  
****** I believe it's actually dryer, but washing machines are more fun.  
******* Is that spelled correctly? Probably not, but it really doesn't matter.  
******** Yeah, that's a reference. But I don't know what I'm referencing.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Zero Wing, Brawl in the Family, Hotel Mario, Sonic Sez, Super Mario TV Show, any Pokemon event (yes, the shiny Pichu is a reference, don't kill me), the video 'CATCH THAT LUIGI', Pokemon Generation 1 games, Kekkaishi, Kurt the Pokeball Maker (likewise for Kekkaishi, this isn't terribly obvious. This is referring to when Mr. Fuji complains that something relating to Team Rocket hurt his back and he couldn't go after them.), and Waluigi in the Family.**

**Quite the long chapter, but probably not as good as some of the other ones. Anyway, I'm quite proud of this chapter, as unoriginal as it is. This proves that I can reference anything, as well known or obscure as it may be. If you don't know any of the references, look it up on Youtube (for most videos) or ask in a review, and I'll probably respond somehow. I still recommend you read 'A Mushroom Kingdom Carol' (Google it), but now I'm also recommending 'Waluigi in the Family' (look for it on the same website as A Mushroom Kingdom Carol). They're both hilarious and very relevant to this chapter alone.**

**I kept true to the poll. Silver did change, and he did go to the Dragon's Den to increase Meganium's happiness. After all, that was the winning choice (of one vote). Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go Pokemon Battle my brother before he goes back to college tomorrow. **


End file.
